Walked off to look for America
I've gone to look for America
All come to look for America
Given the fact that we are at the beginning of the Semiquincentennial - the 250th anniversary of the United States becoming an independent Nation - my mind is focused on this celebration and hearkens back to my time spent searching for America's past.
When I began this Passion for the Past blog way back in 2007, I had no real direction. I honestly didn't even know what a blog was - only that it was a place I could harness my love of history and my love of writing. I absolutely had no idea that seventeen years later I would still be writing in it, pretty much weekly. But now I have direction: Passion for the Past has sort of become an informative picture-book, all based around history. Yes, along with my historical research I usually include loads of photos. I've always found images can help to guide me, keep me focused, and even immerse me to some extent. And it seems there are many of you out there who feel the same.
That's what today's posting is all about: pictures. And a few comments interspersed.
Sometimes that's all one needs to stir the historical soul.
.
It seems to happen in EIGHTS:
'Twas in 2008 when we last visited Gettysburg.
Eight years later, in 2016, we visited Colonial Williamsburg.
Here it is eight years later yet - 2024 - and we have plans to visit various historical spots in Massachusetts.
Why so far in between?
I have no idea. I can only say we travel by automobile, looking for and at America, and the distances in miles are great. I certainly do not mind driving, but these 8 to 14 hour trips can play harsh games mentally.
"Why not fly?" you ask.
If man were meant to fly, he'd have wings!
I'm not a flyer, number one.
Yes, it's a fear I have. And, no, please do not waste your time telling me how safe it is and all that. Nearly 63 years old, never flown, and I'm doing just fine, thank you very much!
And, for reason number two, there are sites to see on the ground, and rather than saying, "I flew over (pick your state)," I can, instead, comment that, "I've been in this state, in this state, and even in this state. I've travelled in America rather than do a fly over!"
So anyhow, I thought I would do a sort of reminder blog post about a few of my earlier travels.
I originally wrote about going to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania back in April 2008. But the better vacation took place two years earlier, in April 2006, when we were not only able to visit Gettysburg, but Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, and Sharpsburg, Maryland (where the Battle of Antietam took place in 1862).
So, let's begin in a sort of timeline order - -
Are you ready boots?
Colonial Williamsburg: A Window To The Past
"Colonial Williamsburg is the restored and reconstructed historic area of Williamsburg, Virginia. It was a center of political activity before and during the American Revolution (1775–1783)—where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry debated taxes, slavery, and the inalienable rights of men—and has since become the site of an ambitious restoration project launched in the 1930s and funded largely by the family of John D. Rockefeller Jr. With many of its historic structures rebuilt, and with interpreters reenacting eighteenth-century life, Colonial Williamsburg has become a landmark in the history of the American preservation movement.
Most, but not all, of the following photos were taken either by me or with my own camera by my daughter. However, there are a few shots here taken by other Williamsburg visitors that really touched me - I love the look and feeling they convey. And since I did a six-post series on Colonial Williamsburg HERE - and each post is loaded with photographs I've taken - 437 of them - the pictures in today's post, aside from a few, I've not included before."
 |
| As one who lives near Colonial Williamsburg, photographer Fred Blystone has the wonderful opportunity to visit the Revolutionary City as often as he'd like, similar to the way I can visit Greenfield Village anytime. So Fred is able to capture scenes such as what we have here more often and more likely than us vacationers! And these shots are so very much appreciated. I wish I could have been a part of this group~ A Fred Blystone image |
 |
| This awesome picture, posted as "Chimneys and Lanterns in Colonial Williamsburg" - was taken by Arden Billings, who also graciously allowed me to use it for today's post. |
 |
| This was such an honor, for I had admired Fred Blystones work for quite a time on the Colonial Williamsburg Friends Facebook page before heading to that historical place. In fact, it was that page that enticed me to vacation there! So to actually meet Fred there...then find this wonderful image he took of myself with interpreter Devon posted on his page, well, that was, like I said, an honor. A Fred Blystone image |
 |
| This is, perhaps, somewhere near the top in my favorites of Mr. Blystone's. A Fred Blystone image |
 |
| We oftentimes don't realize what a colorful world our 18th century ancestors lived in. A Fred Blystone image |
 |
| This is Adam, the carriage driver. He is excellent and enjoys his work - as our driver, he had wonderful stories to tell, and his demeanor was most welcoming, very personal. A Fred Blystone image |
 |
| Patty & I did enjoy the brick walk along the streets. And the morning walks were my favorite, for it was not too crowded with people, so we headed out while most visitors were either still sleeping or still eating their breakfast. My daughter took around a half dozen pictures of us simply walking along Duke of Gloucester street. It was magical. |
 |
| As soon as we got our hotel room, my wife put her hands on her hips and said, "I need to get our clothes inside the dresser!" I said, "Honey...I gotta go see it---this is Colonial Williamsburg! I can't wait!" "Go on - - go ahead - - - " I was HERE---in COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG! |
 |
Margaret Hunter's Millinery As I wrote in my original postings, I pretty much covered each movement I made there, so there are plenty of photos of me in them---I mean, who knows when I'll be back? My wife? Yup - you'll see her as well, but she only dressed period for about a day and a half where I was in my colonial clothing the entire four-day stay. |
In 1738, Henry Wetherburn purchased two lots across the street from the Raleigh Tavern. He began to build a house on the lots, a typical center-passage house with two rooms on either side. In 1742, a group of men purchased the Raleigh Tavern, where Wetherburn had been working as the tavern keeper. Wetherburn decided to move across the street and open his own tavern in his house.
 |
| This is one of my very favorite photos that I snapped - it's of the Wetherburn Tavern, originally built in the 1740s and by the early 1750s, had become a tavern. |
 |
| There 'tis - the Wetherburn Tavern~ Whereas many of the historic buildings are replicas of originals long gone, the Wetherburn Tavern is one that has been around since originally built back in the 1740s, and remained a popular publick gathering spot throughout the rest of the 18th century. |
On November 19, 1760, Henry Wetherburn died. An extensive and detailed inventory of his personal property was taken in December 1760. This detailed, room-by-room inventory has been used by the curators to refurnish the tavern today.
 |
| The court gave his widow, Anne, the tavern property and enough slaves to operate the business as her third of the estate. At her death, which probably occurred sometime in the late 1760s, her share of the estate went to Wetherburn's nephew, Edward Nicholson. |
 |
| In the 1760s, 1770s, and 1780s the property was rented out to several tavern keepers. Since taverns were usually referred to by the name of the tavern keeper, the tavern was called Southall's when James Southall operated the tavern in the late 1760s. In 1764 and 1769, George Washington noted in his ledger that he "dined at Southall's." When Southall left, Robert Anderson rented the property from the Nicholson estate and continued to operate a tavern until 1779, when Ambrose Davenport took over the site. |
 |
| Inside Wetherburn's Tavern Today Wetherburn's Tavern is one of Colonial Williamsburg's most thoroughly and carefully restored buildings. |
 |
| Of course, the back of the tavern is as beautiful as the front. That is my wife sitting there. |
 |
| My wife and my daughter at the back of Wetherburn's. |
Onward we go - - -
 |
| There are probably a dozen photos of Amy & I talking. I remember asking a passersby if she would take a couple of snaps of our time here, and this woman, like I said, took at least a dozen---and then I found out she was a professional photographer! A stroke of luck! And some amazing pictures! |
 |
| Photo by Janice Aiken Meharg Such a peaceful scene. |
 |
| Photo taken by Margaret Sweeney Smith So many conversations can be imagined from this one picture alone. "Young lady, did you remember to trim the candle wicks before leaving this day?" |
 |
| Another great photo by Fred Blystone Perhaps I'll make it back to Colonial Williamsburg...and during autumn! |
 |
| Steven Frazier took this Traffic Hours photo. |
 |
| This is a shot taken by Susan McCall~ Looks like a December's Day to me. |
 |
| I believe my daughter snapped this picture when I stepped away for a moment - no, this is not me, but a Williamsburg worker. |
 |
| A moment captured in time... I enjoy the horses & carriages clip-clopping passed. I remember speaking to Roy, a former Greenfield Village presenter, and when I told him of my planned trip to Colonial Williamsburg, he mentioned that I was going to hate it. Hate it?? Then he commented that the reason I would hate it was because I had to leave and come back home to Michigan! I must admit, it was pretty tough! |
 |
| Because one is fully surrounded by the 18th century, moving throughout Colonial Williamsburg is truly the same as peering through a window to the past... |
 |
| If you look way down the sidewalk you can make out a period-dress worker. |
 |
| There are some museums who try to be "current" in a poor attempt to attract the youth. To me that is a big mistake. To attract the younger set is to make the past interesting - bring it alive; allow the youth to experience the past with touching and trying rather than lecturing. To me, a museum that resorts to cartoons to bring kids in is losing its way. My opinion. The entire time I was at Williamsburg, I never once thought of it as being some sort of Disney-fied tourist attraction. But, rather, a place of history. |
That's one thing that Williamsburg is not afraid of being, and that's a historical destination.
 |
| Resting on a hot summer's day. |
 |
| Colonial Williamsburg isn't only about the historic structures, but also about the period-dressed presenters who work there, always about and willing to engage in wonderful conversations. |
 |
| I believe this is an actual family and not various Colonial Williamsburg workers. I do so enjoy seeing the young ones helping perhaps an older sibling or maybe even their mother out in the garden, all dressed proper for the time period. |
 |
| A favorite image I took of my wife... |
 |
| Whoops! My wife was trying to catch a breeze on this very hot Virginia day! |
 |
| Patty strolling past the George Wythe House. |
 |
| Looking at the back of the Orlando Jones property - A Fred Blystone photo |
Now, you'll note that I didn't write too much history in the Colonial Williamsburg segment - not for any reason other than it's all in my original 6-post series.
My many many thanks to the Colonial Williamsburg photographers for allowing me to use their photos.
It means so much to me - thank you.
@ # @
For an earlier vacation, we went to explore the Civil War. As Civil War reenactors, it was only a natural progression.
I began this Passion for the Past blog back in November of 2007, so I wrote nothing about our vacation to Harpers Ferry and Antietam. Well, hopefully this post will rectify that, at least a little. That's the thing about digital photos - they age well without fading or crinkling.
It was the week following Easter, in 2006, and with the kids off for Easter break, we went on this wonderful holiday, and we met up with some of our reenacting friends - all members of the 21st Michigan - upon arriving.
Originally meeting up in Gettysburg, we did plenty of touring there...but before we get to that portion, let's go to the 1850s - -
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
"Filled with history, natural beauty, and plenty of Appalachian charm, Harpers Ferry is a Mountain State gem."
The town of Harpers Ferry witnessed the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown's attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves. Harpers Ferry was used by freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad. African Americans fought with John Brown to end American slavery. Colonel Tubman, as Brown called Harriet Tubman, helped to recruit and raise funds for the attack.
 |
| I took a number of "town shots" while there. |
 |
| Some of the scenes in the movie, Gods & Generals, were filmed here in Harpers Ferry. |
 |
| Do you see the Dry Goods store? That's where we're headed next~ |
 |
| "Step through the doors of this exhibit and be taken back in time to an 1860s store where you could buy anything from cloth and hats to spices and household items." |
 |
| Although Harpers Ferry was in a slave state, whites and African-Americans, slave and free, patronized these stores together. |
 |
| The merchandise shown in the pictures here includes typical items of the 1850's including fabrics, decanters, patent medicines, writing implements, hardware, and general notions. |
 |
| As I've heard said at another historic general store: "the Amazon.com of its time." |
Then there's Jefferson Rock:
 |
| Thomas Jefferson stood on the rock on October 25th, 1783, enjoying the view so much that he wrote about its beauty in his famous work, 'Notes on the State of Virginia.' According to Jefferson, the view alone was “worth a voyage across the Atlantic." Yes, that is the Potomac River there. |
 |
| The structure now known as John Brown’s Fort was erected in 1848. It was in this building that John Brown and several of his followers barricaded themselves during the final hours of their ill-fated raid of October 16, 17, and 18, 1859. |
On July 3, 1859, Brown arrived in Harpers Ferry, accompanied by his sons. In the preceding months, Brown raised money from other abolitionists and ordered weapons — pikes and guns — to be used in his war against slavery.
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an ultimately failed effort by the abolitionist; from October 16 to 18, 1859, Brown tried to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. His goal was to instigate a major slave rebellion in the South.
The main reason John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry failed was because the armory that he attacked was surrounded by a regiment. As a result, he was easily discovered by the soldiers patrolling the area. He was arrested and later executed.
During the Civil War, the John Brown Fort was used as a prison, a powder magazine, and perhaps a quartermaster supply house. Union troops admired the fort as they passed while Confederate troops cursed it. Many troops broke pieces of brick and wood off the fort as souvenirs. It was the only Armory building to escape destruction during the Civil War.
Early in 1803, Meriwether Lewis traveled to Harpers Ferry for supplies needed for his journey. He relied on the U.S. Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry for guns and hardware - among other things - that would meet his unique requirements. In addition to procuring supplies, Lewis also attended to the construction of a collapsible iron boat frame.
 |
| Lewis had only expected to stay in Harpers Ferry for a week, but instead was forced to stay over a month as the boat frame was built. On April 20, 1803, Lewis wrote President Jefferson: |
“My detention at Harper's Ferry was unavoidable for one month, a period much greater than could reasonably have been calculated on; my greatest difficulty was the frame of the canoe, which could not be completed without my personal attention to such portions of it as would enable the workmen to understand the design perfectly. -My Rifles, Tomahawks & knives are already in a state of forwardness that leaves me little doubt of their being in readiness in due time.”
 | ||
By April 18, 1803, when the boat frame was finished, Lewis left Harpers Ferry for Lancaster and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eleven weeks later, on July 7, Lewis returned to Harpers Ferry to pick up his supplies. He secured a driver, team, and wagon to haul the supplies to Pittsburgh, and Lewis finally left for the last time on July 8, 1803.
|
From Harpers Ferry, we drove the short distance to
Sharpsburg/Antietam, Maryland
The Battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day of the American Civil War, and is considered one of the major turning points of the war. This battle was the first of two attempts by Robert E. Lee to go on the offensive and take the war onto northern soil and into the Union.
23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam led President Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
 |
| "Americans fought back and forth across the Cornfield for three hours. Those three hours may encompass the most concentrated fury in American History." We were there in April, so there was no corn growing at that time of year here. |
A little known local old farmer's sunken road became a bloody icon of American History:
During the early hours of the battle, Colonel John Brown Gordon promised Robert E. Lee: "These men are going to stay here, General, till the sun goes down or victory is won." The Confederate troops that Gordon commanded were part of a well protected line of over 2,200 men hunkered down behind piled-up fence rails in this well worn sunken road.
 |
| After more than three hours of appalling combat, 5,500 men were killed or wounded. |
 |
Seeing the dead in the road an observer wrote, "They were lying in rows like the ties of a railroad, in heaps like cordwood mingled with the splintered and shattered fence rails. Words are inadequate to portray the scene." The Sunken Road was forever after known as the Bloody Lane. |
 |
William Roulette bought this property before the Civil War. By Tuesday, September 16th, having heard the sounds of battle coming from South Mountain as early as September 14th, William Roulette took his family, including his six children who ranged in age from 1 to 14 years old, to the Manor Church, a Brethren church located six miles north of the battlefield. However, the farm couldn’t be left alone indefinitely, so William returned on September 17 to look after his stock. "When firing began he went into the cellar for safety, but when our boys cleaned out the Johnnies he quickly ran out, shouting excitedly: ‘Give it to ‘em!’ ‘Drive ‘em!’—'Take anything on my place only drive ‘em! Drive ‘em!’ " |
 |
| "It is A.P. Hill from Harper's Ferry!" "The first thing we saw appear was the gilt eagle that surmounted the pole, then the top of the flag, next the flutter of the stars and stripes itself, slowly mounting, up it rose, then their hats came in sight, still rising the faces emerged, next a range of curious eyes appeared, then such a hurrah as only the Yankee troops could give broke the stillness and they surged against us. Hastily emptying our muskets into their lines, we fled back through the cornfield. Oh, how I ran." |
 |
| The Battle of Antietam, fought September 17, 1862, was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of this nation. Yet, one of the most noted landmarks on this great field of combat is a house of worship associated with peace and love. Indeed, the Dunker Church ranks as perhaps one of the most famous churches in American military history. |
 |
During the battle of Antietam the church was the focal point of a number of Union attacks against the Confederate left flank. Most after action reports by commanders of both sides, including Union General Hooker and Confederate Stonewall Jackson, make references to the church. At battles end the Confederates used the church as a temporary medical aid station, and at least one account states that after the battle the Union Army used the Dunker Church as an embalming station. |
In 1921 a violent storm swept through the area flattening the church.
The land and church ruins were put up for sale and purchased by Sharpsburg resident Elmer Boyer. He salvaged most of the undamaged material of the building and in turn sold the property. The new property owner built a home on the foundation of the old church and in the 1930’s operated a gas station and souvenir shop on the site. This structure was removed in 1951 when the property was purchased by the Washington County Historical Society. They in turn donated the site, then just a foundation, to the National Park Service. The Church was restored for the 100th Anniversary of the Battle in 1962 on the original foundation with as much original materials as possible and now stands as a beacon of peace on the battlefield.
 |
| When I hear the word Antietam, a photograph comes to mind first — the bodies of fallen soldiers and a horse near the damaged Dunker Church. Tintype photographer, Alexander Gardner, summed up both the horror of the day and the effect on individual people in a single well-composed scene. |
 |
| Union side The Burnside Bridge spans the Antietam Creek. Confederate General Robert Toombs and fewer than 500 Georgia soldiers held the area overlooking the Lower Bridge for three hours. Union General Ambrose Burnside's command finally captured the bridge and crossed Antietam Creek, which forced the Confederates back toward Sharpsburg. |
 |
| Confederate side Known at the time of the battle as the Rohrbach or Lower Bridge, this picturesque crossing over Antietam Creek was built in 1836 to connect Sharpsburg with Rohrersville, the next town to the south. It was actively used for traffic until 1966 when a bypass enabled the bridge to be restored to its 1862 appearance. |
 |
| Union side About 1:00 p.m., with Union soldiers crossing downstream and another attack made on the bridge, Toombs and his men had to retreat. However, the strong delaying action provided much needed time to allow Gen. A.P. Hill's Confederate soldiers, marching from Harpers Ferry, to arrive on the field. |
There were more than 22,000 casualties at the Battle of Antietam. Doctors at the scene are overwhelmed. Badly needed supplies are brought in by nurse Clara Barton, known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.”
- - -
Now, the biggest part of our trip was spent in Gettysburg.
I've been to Gettysburg two times - 2006 and 2008 - and each was just as wonderful a visit and lesson as the other. However, it seems that everyone concentrates on the actual battles out in the farmer's fields and pays little mind to what happened in town. You can't have one without the other - - and in those two visits we tried to do it all - - and the photos herein are a combination of both visits.
So---with the melody of "The Girl I Left Behind (Me) - - -
I'm going down to Gettysburg town:
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1, 2, and 3, in 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point.
Being a major Union victory, Gettysburg ended Confederate General, Robert E. Lee's, ambitious second quest to invade the North and bring the Civil War to a swift end. The loss there dashed the hopes of the Confederate States of America to become an independent nation.
We were steeped into Civil War reenacting, and, per usual for us, Patty & I and our kids all wore our Civil War clothing for much of the time we were there. Yes, we toured the battlefields, but also the homefront - the town itself - because much excitement occurred there as well.
One of the things I was most excited about was that we were going to stay in the Tillie Pierce House!
This historical house, built in 1829, had seen its share of wounded men, and had just opened up as a bed & breakfast - we were one of the first guests.
This historical house, built in 1829, had seen its share of wounded men, and had just opened up as a bed & breakfast - we were one of the first guests.
 |
| The Tillie Pierce House~ This photograph was taken by Lisa De Cusati |
 |
| The 2nd floor landing had a photograph of the home's namesake. |
Tillie Pierce is well known because she had her memoirs of her own place and time during the battle published in book form, and she became somewhat of a celebrity because of it.
(At Gettysburg, or, What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle by Matilda "Tillie" Pierce Alleman)
 |
| Bed-n-Breakfast~ We got the bed and then awoke to a wonderful breakfast. Yes, we were dressed for the day. |
 |
| Built circa 1797, the Cashtown Inn served as the first stage coach stop west of Gettysburg along the newly constructed Chambersburg Turnpike. During the Gettysburg Campaign, the Inn served as Confederate Headquarters for General A. P. Hill while the 22,000 men of his Third Corp camped throughout the town. |
 |
| My always beautiful bride and a shorter haired me, sitting on the Cashtown Inn porch swing. |
 |
| Built by David Stoner in 1852, the historic Sachs Covered Bridge was used by both Union and Confederate Troops during the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. |
And so it begins - -
I may not vacation often, but we try to choose our destinations carefully. I am so very thankful that my wife enjoys history and that she doesn't mind our historic travels. I am not a sight-see-er kind of traveler. Oh, I enjoy a beautiful scene as much as anybody, but I prefer a place to go where I can do and learn.
HARRIET BAYLY: “June 30 – The whole air seemed charge with conditions which go before a storm; everybody anxious, neighbor asking neighbor what was going to happen and what will we do if the worst should happen?”
MICHAEL JACOBS: “June 30 – (I) saw General John Buford’s Union cavalry division, including two brigades, riding into Gettysburg from the Taneytown Road, on the south. He flung one of his brigades directly north, along Washington Street; the other he dispatched to the west along the Chambersburg Road.”
 |
| ~I snapped this image at the corner of Washington and High Streets~ TILLIE PIERCE: “June 30 - A crowd of us girls were standing on the corner of Washington and High Streets as the soldiers passed by. Desiring to encourage them who, as we were told, would before long be in battle, my sister started to sing the old war song ‘Our Union Forever.’ As some of us did not know the whole of the piece we kept repeating the chorus.” |
SALLIE MEYERS: “June 30 - How they dashed by! Their horse’s feet seemed shod with lightning. Along the street we stood – all the girls and women of the town. We had prepared food in advance, and had baskets and trays in our hands. They came by, snatching in their hasty passage whatever they could lay their hands on – sandwiches, pieces of pie, cold meat, bread, cakes, cups of coffee, and bottles of water.
The eyes of the soldiers blazed, they smiled and some joined in the song. It was the last song many of those brave men ever heard, and the bite we gave was the last many ever ate.”
We did quite a bit of walking around town until the late afternoon when we went to the Gibson Photography Studio to have our tintypes taken. It was so cool (yes, I know I’ve said that word quite a bit, but it’s true!). The guy uses an actual 1867 camera and posed us authentically. The tintype turned out excellent.
 |
| Tin-Typist, Rob Gibson, is a well-known modern "period" photographer who has done covers for Civil War Historian magazine as well as taken tintypes of the actors from movies Gods & Generals and Cold Mountain. And now us! |
We were giddy with excitement - we seriously were! - and so we walked in the same manner as must have been done 160+ years ago, all filled with enthusiasm and eagerness.
Now I know I took photos inside the studio, but I cannot find them anywhere. Here's to hoping I will.
Where the battles began - - -
 |
| Herbst Woods, or sometimes called McPherson Woods, now known as Reynolds Woods, is a wooded area west of McPherson Ridge just outside of Gettysburg. |
 |
| At the very beginning of the fighting, Major General John Reynolds, senior Union commander on the field, fell mortally wounded at the edge of the woods. The monument marks the spot. |
 |
| The small wooded area was the location of a military engagement during the first day at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. |
"A Confederate soldier, his youthful face turned toward the viewer, lies behind a stone wall built between two boulders in Gettysburg’s notorious Devil’s Den. His head rests on a knapsack, and his rumpled uniform coat makes it almost appear as if he is asleep under a blanket. But relics of war intrude on the scene so there is no mistaking he is a casualty of ferocious combat. A musket leans against the wall in the background, and an open cartridge box lies at his side. A cap is next to his head, where it landed after the soldier fell dead. Photographer Alexander Gardner took the arresting image on July 6, 1863, and when he published it for public consumption, he titled it “Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter” to convey that the soldier was a marksman who had been picking off Union soldiers on Little Round Top, seen in the distance, before a shell fragment fired by a Union cannon snuffed out his life."
 |
| “Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter” - Alexander Gardner, July 6, 1863 |
Gardner and his assistant, Timothy O’Sullivan, actually staged that dramatic scene by moving the dead soldier, who was not a sharpshooter but a common foot soldier, from another location in Devil’s Den to the barricade to create a dramatic tableaux, complete with carefully dressed accessories that included the musket, accoutrements, and uniform items. Gardner and Sullivan took two plates of the Confederate at the wall, one of which was a stereoview. The fact that the corpse was photographed in two separate locations went unnoticed for nearly a century until Frederick Ray, an illustrator for Civil War Times, wrote the short article, “The Case of the Rearranged Corpse” in the October 1961 issue of this magazine.
In 1975, photographic historian William Frassanito published his groundbreaking book on Gettysburg photographs titled Gettysburg: A Journey in Time. In his study of the “sharpshooter” photographs, Frassanito identified the body in its first location and estimated the body was moved 40 yards (later revised to 72 yards) to the stone barricade.
 |
| And here you see Patty & I with our four young kids standing in that very same spot. I call this picture "The Giorlando Family Six Sing The Latest Folk Hits" |
 |
| Little Round Top |
 |
| For more than an hour, the fighting on the slopes of Little Round Top continued, eventually drawing to a close when Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine, exhausted and out of ammunition, fixed bayonets and forced the bewildered Confederates from the ridge. That occurred at this very spot. |
 |
| Devil's Den is in the circle - this whole area is known as "The Valley of Death." |
 |
| Watching the sunset from atop Little Round Top |
The original part of the Farnsworth House was built in 1810, followed by the brick structure in 1833. The house sheltered Confederate sharpshooters during the three-day conflict, one of whom it is believed to have accidentally shot 20 year-old Mary Virginia “Jennie/Ginny” Wade, the only civilian who died during the battle. More than 100 bullet holes pock the walls. Following the battle, the house served as a hospital.
 |
| The Farnsworth House |
 |
| It is said that from this garret window, a Confederate sharpshooter accidently shot and killed Ginny Wade. |
 |
| The house Ginny Wade was in when struck by a Confederate Sharpshooter's bullet. She was making bread to hand out to the Union soldiers. |
 |
| Here is the dough trough that Ginny was at when the bullet came through the door behind her. |
 |
| The bullet hole. |
 |
| A statue in Ginny Wade's honor. You might've noticed I call her Ginny and not Jennie. That's because she was known as Ginny...or sometimes just as Gin. A newspaper story wrote her name as Jennie and that name stuck. But I'll stick with what she was known as in her day. |
 |
| The charge of Major General George Edward Pickett (more commonly known as Pickett's Charge) was ultimately a futile all-out assault on an extremely fortified Union position. Many historians consider Pickett's Charge to symbolize the turning tide of the war for the Union Army, although Lee's army fought on for nearly two more years. |
 |
| The Copse of Trees at Gettysburg was the focal point of Pickett's Charge on July 3rd, 1863, the last day of the battle. |
 |
| Pickett's brigades, excluding artillery losses were 2,376 casualties: 442 killed, 572 wounded, 750 wounded and captured, and 613 captured out of 5,238 for an average of 45% casualties. My son, seriously contemplating exactly what occurred there. It's so hard to imagine. |
 |
The Gettysburg Train Station was built in 1858 and opened in 1859. On July 1, 1863, the purpose for Gettysburg’s railroad station changed when it became the first army field hospital even before the Battle of Gettysburg began. On November 18, 1863, enthusiastic crowds gathered outside this depot depot in hopes of catching a glimpse of President Abraham Lincoln as he arrived in Gettysburg for the dedication of the national cemetery (the Gettysburg Address). |
Some may complain that this post is "war-centric" - so? I believe the Civil War to be one worth fighting. Just my opinion.
By the way, do you like battlefields?
Well, we have an actual historical battlefield right here in Michigan, which comes from the War of 1812. HERE is my posting on it. The stories of what happened are unbelievable - the events that happened here could easily be made into a true action movie, if the Hollywood producers ever got off their lazy butts and made some actual movies rather than Marvel CGI crap!
I've been trying to promote America 250 as often as I can. I have high hopes that something will catch and celebrations can begin.
Well, we have an actual historical battlefield right here in Michigan, which comes from the War of 1812. HERE is my posting on it. The stories of what happened are unbelievable - the events that happened here could easily be made into a true action movie, if the Hollywood producers ever got off their lazy butts and made some actual movies rather than Marvel CGI crap!
By the way, let's also include recent Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum visits as well, filled with the wonderous history that is America.
In other words, southeaster lower Michigan should also be a destination point for history lovers:
Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum
a short drive north of Detroit (hour & a half) is historic Crossroads Village
and a quick visit to the historic Village of Romeo - not a museum, but a bonafide historic town in its own right, where change-over from the 19th century to the 21st century is slow to come.
Of course, there are other fine places within diving distance, such as The Motown Museum in Detroit, Waterloo Fam Museum, historic Mill Race Village in Northville, and, of course, our wonderful small Victorian towns that dot the shorelines in and around or our Great Lakes.
There's a lot more history here than many realize, and the fools in our state Capitol of Lansing don't even give it a thought. Yes, so much of Michigan can be a vacation destination if only some advertising dollars could be spent on such a thing.
 |
| Celebrating Michigan history as well! |
"""""'''''"""""'''''""""""""'''''
I hope I may have enticed you to perhaps do a bit of historical traveling, especially since we are in America's 250th anniversary.
 |
| God shed His grace on thee... |
Even if you are not a reenactor or museum worker, spending time at historical places and reenactments is a simple, yet entertaining and realistic way to learn about our nation's past.
I hope to see you!
Until next time, see you in time.
............~ ~ ~..........
